On Friday, its 100th day, IU cleared the pro-Palestine encampment in Dunn Meadow, formed April 25, and placed fencing around Dunn Meadow.
Thomas Morrison, Vice President of IU Capital Planning and Facilities, wrote in an email to the IU community Friday that the fencing will be up as Dunn Meadow receives “extensive repairs” for damage incurred by encampment structures. These repairs include replacing turf and servicing the subsurface irrigation system.
IU executive director of media relations Mark Bode said in a email to the Indiana Daily Student that initial estimates for the work for Dunn Meadow are $100,000, though can increase as work progresses.
On Monday, the IU Board of Trustees approved a new university-wide expressive activity policy which prohibits camping at any time of day if not in conjunction with an approved university event. It also requires approval for signs and symbols affixed to or inserted into the ground or hung from any university property. Structures, like tents, require 10 days advance approval.
An encampment medic told the IDS on Wednesday the protesters would not resist the encampment take-down, citing injuries sustained by protesters during the initial rounds of arrests and a decrease in momentum of the national encampment movement.
On April 25 and 27, Indiana State and IU Police arrested 57 protesters in the meadow and charged them with at least criminal trespass for violating a policy prohibiting temporary structures, including tents, without prior approval. The policy was created April 24, one day before the start of the encampment.
The Monroe County Prosecutor’s Office later dropped all criminal trespass charges.
The process of clearing the encampment began Thursday, the day the new policy took effect, with IU facilities operations workers power-washing painted pro-Palestine messages off sidewalks near Dunn Meadow. Use of non-soluble, semi-permanent or permanent materials, such as paint, is prohibited on the surfaces of university property under the new policy.
An IUPD officer asked protesters Thursday if they wished to take any items from the encampment before they were removed. An encampment participant said Friday morning nothing had been left that protesters were unwilling to part with.
According to the encampment participant, all structures aside from the gardens planted by protesters in May had been removed upon the arrival of bystanders around 6:40 a.m. Friday. The participant said they sighted a forklift in Dunn Meadow at 8:19 a.m. and a more concerted effort to remove the gardens began around 9:15 a.m.
By 9:45 a.m. Friday, workers wearing t-shirts reading “Master Rental” were putting up fences around the meadow. The meadow was entirely fenced in by 11 a.m. Bode said in an email to the IDS that IU hired a third party — Master Rental.
Two encampment participants standing near Dunn Meadow expressed sadness at the take-down, especially of structures built to memorialize Palestinians killed in Gaza.
“It’s sad to see IU destroy a peaceful protest,” one said. “We tried to create a peaceful community that IU didn’t want.”
In a joint Instagram post Thursday, the IU Divestment Coalition and Palestine Solidarity Committee — the groups who organized the encampment — commemorated 99 days of the encampment that day and wrote they were prepared for “new challenges” as they continue to fight for their demands, which include IU’s total divestment from Israel and cessation of partnerships with Naval Surface Warfare Center — Crane Division.
UPDATED: This story was updated with information on the cost of work for Dunn Meadow and the verification of a third party.
